Archive for 'Primary Education'

Aug201418

SAMR was such a new concept to me I decided to ignore it. I’ve been out of the classroom for a while. I didn’t understand it and it seemed too removed from what I was doing in the classroom. But I found myself wanting to get the students to use their devices to their full potential. I […]

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Aug201414

So back in 1996 I was a bright eyed and bushy tailed teacher grad. Newly married, my new teaching career was carefully planned out before me. A couple years to become registered. Complete my degree then after that have some kids. Like all perfect plans they didn’t eventuate. God brings imperfections and surprises. Looking back […]

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Aug201409

Recently I’ve begun to see everything within a food metaphor – this all started with my Learning Is A Banquet post. Can we go a little deeper? What if teacher were the hosts of a pot luck dinner party and the students were the guests? If guests show up with nothing to contribute, they’re still welcome. […]

Aug201408

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Jul201406

The General Election in September will be all about education. The National Party has been on the front foot this year – and this is a little unusual. One of their key policies is IES – Investing in Educational Success. In a nutshell, $358m over three years invested into teacher salaries. Clusters of about 10 […]

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Jun201415

Teaching used to be about knowledge distribution. “I’ll show you this knowledge today. Tomorrow, I’ll build on that and share some more knowledge…” The teacher was the source of knowledge. Teachers controlled the flow, quality and timing of knowledge. The student was the grateful recipient. There were many structures in place to support this idea: […]

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May201325

Share an Apple ID and turn on automatic downloads. Add an email account for her and setup your iMessage so that chaos doesn’t ensue. Find my iPad (goes without saying). Use iCloud backup She turned 10 yesterday, and the iPad mini was a surprise. She’s a mature, intelligent girl (don’t tell her I said that!), […]

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Feb201306

Reflective Practice Post #1 for 2013. … and reflecting as a parent too. My two big boys have started years 7 and 11 this week. What do I expect as a parent? I want to be convinced that they’re engaged in learning, challenged and “getting on with it.” Homework is quite gratifying. The biggest boy […]

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Dec201201

I was talking to my son this morning about my plans for next year. I’m teaching technology to year 7s and 8s – basically ICT. Most of the kids will have iPads, so I hope to get them eportfolioing in WordPress. Why WordPress? I’m pretty sure that the WordPress app sets it apart from mahara […]

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Nov201230

I attended an info evening put on by my local primary school on their new BYOD initiative last night. While there were some supportive parents there, the night was dominated by complaint – and it was hard to watch. I wanted to outline a couple of myths and realities. Please, if you disagree, that’s what […]